Down the Mountain

Spiritual highs and lows are strange things. We have these incredible experiences in our journey of faith, and we get incredibly excited about things. These are typically times of intense spiritual growth. But, eventually, the valleys come after the peaks. Perhaps you’ve experienced this in your own life. It’s a pretty common experience following mission trips. We spend so much time and focus on God during that period, and then life begins to catch back up to us.

The disciples experienced something similar during their time with Jesus. At the beginning of Matthew 17, a few of them have an incredible experience when they see Jesus transfigured before them. Mose and Elijah are also seen. I can’t imagine what that would have been like, and then they go down the mountain.

Down at the foot of the mountain, it’s a different story. Some of the other disciples have been trying, to no avail, to cast a demon out of a young boy. Finally, Jesus comes down the mountain and the boy’s father comes to him.

“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him” (Matthew 17:15-16).

In our times of spiritual highs, we feel like we can do anything. In the lows, we feel like we can do nothing. Casting demons out is nothing that Jesus’ disciples hadn’t done before. But for whatever reason – Jesus says that they lacked faith – they couldn’t do it this time. Where they relying on their own power? Did they think it was something that they could do, and therefore, lost their focus? Who knows.

Here’s the thing: you will have highs and lows in your journey of faith. There will be incredible moments, and there will be frustrating moments. Through it all, remember the source. Remember that it is not on our own that we can do incredible things, but through the power of God working through us. Don’t focus so much on what you can and cannot do, but look at what God is doing. And maybe, just maybe, even when you are at the foot of the mountain, you’ll be able to step forward in faith.